{{ :e9.png?nolink&600 |}} \\ \\ \\ **Event 9 Rumours** Expelling a few corporations from the Zone seems to be having the desired effect and the more overt corporate actions have stopped almost entirely. This is not to say unethical testing has stopped, merely that the explosions can no longer be seen from space.\\ \\ Something has rattled the intelligence services in the Zone, and there seems to be more of them around than usual. The new arrivals still seem to have a very incomplete understanding of the Zone and are still paying in cash, gems and gold bullion, none of which are easily exchanged for food or ammunition. The Bars have taken in some gold and gemstones but are refusing to take any more, citing difficulties in getting it back out of the Zone to sell it. A few of the Awakened have done a crude survey and they estimate there could be as much as £1.5 million in gold bullion dotted about the Zone by now.\\ \\ **Event 9 After Action Report** An absolute shitstorm.\\ \\ Within 48 hours of people discovering the existence of MI7, a new security service specifically created to police the Zone, it is believed that every single one of their field agents present in the Zone is now dead. Wild rumours circulating suggest that it is the same small group of freelancers responsible for every death. Others contend that the existing MI5 teams may also have a hand in the deaths over some insane Government turf war. Either way, around 40 UK intelligence operatives are dead and that is going to provoke a response.\\ \\ The factions are starting to close up shop, hunkering down in their respective HQs to weather out the coming storm. The Truthers have put out adverts for work shipping their data archives to an unknown location as a backup plan, the High Rollers have been liquidating stockpiles of all manner of goods in order to acquire food and water, and the Awakened have broken into tiny cells to try and vanish.\\ \\ Two small buildings, believed to be corporate holdings, were seen to be emitting huge clouds of what some claim to be nerve gas. A few brave souls who ventured in as the clouds started to clear reported that the buildings housed communications equipment and security systems, all now trashed. It was clear someone had stolen data in a quite audacious brute force hack. No-one could identify the corporation and very little left in the buildings was salvageable after the gas release, so it is unclear as yet what the response will be.